ADCOR Defense at 2011 SHOT Show

Considering the size of the SHOT Show, one should probably not say things like “the BEST new this, or the ONLY that…” Keeping this in mind, the product that really “jumped off the page” for me was a rifle being offered by a somewhat new firearms manufacturer by the name of ADCOR Defense. While not exactly “new” to firearms manufacturing, ADCOR is very well known in the field of precision manufacturing. Their bottling equipment is used by over 80% of U.S. based bottling companies such as Budweiser and Coke. This is an impressive company with a solid track record dating back 30 years.

Unfortunately for ADCOR, their primary display was shoved waaaay in the back of one of the downstairs rooms where I and others may have completely overlooked it. The only reason I noticed this rifle was because somebody at ADCOR decided to use a noisy pneumatic system to showcase this amazing rifle and it’s one of a kind gas piston system. I’m sure the neighboring booths did not appreciate the racket but it sure as hell got our attention and tells me that the marketing division did some homework. ADCOR also had a small display space on the main floor but again, it was not in the best location and their piston demonstration caught our ears there as well.

There are so many great things we would like to tell you about this rifle but I’m only able to touch the surface here so I will reserve the details for a future write-up.

The single most intriguing part of this rifle is the piston design. Unlike every other piston system on the market, the ADCOR B.E.A.R. (Brown Enhanced Automatic Rifle) features a truly free floated barrel because the piston actuator is mounted to the forearm itself and connects through a sleeved gas tube . This transfers all forces to the hand guard because the piston actuator does not touch the barrel.

The gas block is selectable between .223 or 5.56mm with the removal of a single pin and a half a twist. The B.E.A.R. has the standard charging handle but also features a forearm mounted side charging handle which is non-reciprocating and adjustable for both left and right handed charging.

Seriously, I could go on for quite awhile about this rifle as well as ADCOR themselves but I’ll have to hold off until I have one of these in my hands. For now, please watch the video where Larry Wayland runs through many features of this awesome new product as well as the independent testing this rifle has gone through and how it stacked up against the competition.